History of Malaysian football
The history of Malaysian football Introduction There are 3 major trophies to be won by the teams in Malaysia football competition which are Malaysia Super League, Malaysia Cup and Malaysia FA Cup. History Malaysia Super League A football league competition involving the representative sides of the state football assiociations was first held in Malaysia in 1979. When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup. It was not until 1982 that a League Cup was introduced to recognise the winners of the preliminary stage as the league champions. Over the years, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right. Initially the only teams only allowed to participate in the league were the state FA's sides, teams representing the Armed Forces and the Police, and teams representing the neighbouring countries of Singapore and Brunei (though the Football Association of Singapore pulled out of the Malaysian League after the 1994 season following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts, and has not been involved since). In recent years, top Malaysian club teams have also been admitted to the league competition. Between 1989 to 1993 and 1998 to 2003, the football league in Malaysia was divided into two levels: * First Division: Malaysian Premier 1 League * Second Division: Malaysian Premier 2 League Between 1994 to 1997, there was no second level league as the top two leagues were combined. Between 2004 to 2006, the professional football league in Malaysia was divided into 2 levels and 2 groups: * First Division: Malaysia Super League * Second Division: Malaysia Premier League Group A * Second Division: Malaysia Premier League Group B Between 2007 until now, the professional football league in Malaysia was only divided into 2 levels when Malaysia Premier League combined into 1 level: * First Division: Malaysia Super League * Second Division: Malaysia Premier League Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup is a highly-prestigious annual soccer tournament in Malaysia. It is currently the longest-running football competition in Asia. Malaysia Cup history began with the Malaya Cup contested in the 1921 where the championship is accompanied by the states of Malaya. When it involves the final winner of the north and south through the tournament champion is divided respectively. In 1933, Malaya Cup was renamed the HMS Malaya Cup taken in conjunction with the name of the battleship HMS Malaya. Commanding officer of the ship when the captain Ion Beauchamp Butler has donated a trophy and then named it HMS Malaya Cup. World War II forced the cessation of competition from 1942 to 1947 and HMS Malaya Cup restarted in 1948. In 1967 the trophy has been replaced with a new trophy Malaysia Cup. Not long after, a team from the Borneo states of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei joined Malaysia Cup. Beginning in 1982, a league championship was introduced to determine who qualified for the final. It will be contested after the expiry of Malaysian football league and the only team that showed the best performance in the league are eligible to compete for the Malaysia Cup. But in 1995, Singapore no longer played in the Malaysia League and thus do not played in the Malaysia Cup. This is because the Football Association of Singapore are having problems with the Football Association of Malaysia and finally pulled out in the world of Malaysian football. But before retreating, Singapore managed to win the 1994 Malaysia Cup for the last time. In 1999, the number of teams entering the Malaysia Cup increased by 12 teams. a year later, the number of teams increased to 16 teams. For the first time the club Johor FC managed to join the Malaysia Cup. The first club to win the Malaysia Cup and so far was MPPJ Selangor in 2003. Selangor FA is the team with the highest achievement in the midst of the Malaysia Cup, winning 33 titles and 16 runner-up. Johor Darul Ta'zim is the latest winner of the Malaysia Cup for their first time ever. FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup is a national knock-out soccer competition organised by the Football Association of Malaysia. This trophy was introduced in 1990. Records Below are the record of teams in Malaysian football competitions since 1921 till present. *Table shows teams' wins in all competitions *Numbers in bracket shows runner-up finishes in competitions *Although the FA of Malaysia has not recognised retrospectively the league winners for 1979–1981, these are included for statistical comparison. *The figures in bold represent the most times this competition has been won by the team Hall of Fame League Cups 3 Major Competition (1989-Current) Great honours Great honours are titled for the team who won 2 trophies (double) and 3 trophies (treble) in the same season. It covers Malaysia Super League, Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysia Cup. Treble See The Double and The Treble Double See also * Malaysia Super League * Malaysia Premier League * Malaysia FA Cup * Malaysia Cup * FAM Football Awards External links *Football Association of Malaysia *RSSSF.com: Malaysia - List of Champions *SoccerDB: Malaysia Super League *Malaysian Football Fan Club *Malaysia League Data Category:History of football in Malaysia